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With Rudy Gobert (left knee) and Derrick Favors (left eye) out injured, Jazz rout Celtics 107-95

Utah Jazz's Donovan Mitchell (45) drives for the basket between Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown, left, and Aron Baynes during the second quarter of an NBA basketball game in Boston, Friday, Dec. 15, 2017. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston • As it turns out, NBA players read Twitter and hear the noise surrounding the teams they play on.

Rodney Hood all but confirmed this following Utah’s surprising and significant 107-95 win over the Boston Celtics Friday night.

The Jazz were losers of four straight. Many said they couldn’t find a win on their current road trip. And losing out for the remainder of the calendar year didn’t seem out of the question after Wednesday night’s disappointment at the Chicago Bulls.

“We heard all of that,” Hood said. “Everyone was saying we had a tough schedule, and all of that. It brought us together. We came out and played tonight with nothing to lose.”

Adopting that mentality, even for a game, is one thing. Executing it on the floor against one of the best teams in the league, well, that’s another. But here the Jazz were — on the night former Utah star Gordon Hayward greeted his old teammates — playing their best game of the season.

In beating the 24-7 Celtics, the Jazz mixed in almost every ingredient you could find for a significant victory. They were resilient, winning despite Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors leaving with first-half injuries, which left coach Quin Snyder running out lineups with Jonas Jerebko at the center spot.

They shot the ball well, making 13 of 25 from 3-point range, and 48 percent from the field overall. Their ability to make open looks from the perimeter cleared the path for drives and slices to the basket off the dribble. The Jazz knew Boston — for as good as it plays defensively — didn’t have a rim protector in the middle. So Utah attacked the rim all night.

Their bench was huge, with Hood and Jerebko scoring 17 points each, and Ekpe Udoh playing huge minutes in place of Favors and Gobert.

Most importantly, they had the best closer on the floor, significant because Boston’s Kyrie Irving was also on the floor. But rookie guard Donovan Mitchell, 3 of 13 from the field heading into the fourth quarter, scored 10 of his 17 points down the stretch, including two cold-blooded 3-pointers that sent a sellout crowd heading for the exits.

“It was an excellent effort tonight and we managed to continue to try to do the things we felt we had to in order to win the game,” Snyder said. “This group has character, and they are going to compete, no matter what.”

The Jazz took control in the second quarter by holding Boston to 13 points. And, of all people, point guard Ricky Rubio got them going offensively. After struggling with his shot for much of the season, Rubio scored 22 points, grabbed seven rebounds and handing out five assists Friday. He scored 10 points in the third quarter, when the Jazz established a double-digit advantage. He got to the basket for easy finishes. He made jumpers and he carried the Jazz until Mitchell got hot.

“It was a team win,” Rubio said. “Everybody stepped up. We know that we have a lot of players who can play and they were ready. It was tough to see Rudy and Derrick hurt. Two of the guys that we care about and them going down, we just kept playing and got the win.”

The Jazz are by no means out of the woods. Saturday night brings the Cleveland Cavaliers, while the Houston Rockets await Monday night. And Gobert might be lost for a significant period for the second time this season.

He was seen limping badly following Friday night’s win, and will receive an MRI on Saturday.

But the Jazz proved something to themselves. They beat an elite team on the road. They did it without their franchise center, and their star rookie took yet another step in his rapid evolution.

“That second quarter, it took us out of our rhythm,” Boston coach Brad Stevens said. “We didn’t play well the rest of the game. I thought we took tough shots. We weren’t playing as hard as they were. And it bit us.”